Ardennes - Faversham

Above: Ardennes, Faversham

If you are looking for honest home cooking, a warm welcome and the company of enthusiastic regulars, look no further than the winner of the 2006 Taste of Kent awards, Ardennes of Faversham.
A cosy reception area leads to the spacious, open-plan dining area where terracotta walls adorned with artwork for sale contrast with wooden floors. There’s seating for 35 (and up to 45 when occasion demands) at simple varnished pine tables and chairs.
Run by Brian Booth and his fellow directors Stuart and Bryan, 114 West Street was originally used as an inn during the 1600s and became the ‘in place’ for Faversham bear baiting.
Over the intervening decades the building has been a house, a shop and a bank, and when Ardennes moved in 14 years ago, the owners first ran it as a patisserie before turning it into a coffee shop serving lunches. Three years ago the move was made to fully licensed restaurant, which makes its success in the recent awards even more remarkable.

Saxon kings
So what did we think? Well, my first piece of advice is to leave yourself plenty of time to browse the menu – the food choices are interspersed with ‘Faversham Facts’ and it can all get a tad distracting.
Did you know that Faversham has the oldest market in Kent, dating back before 1086 and that it was the summer capital of the Saxon Kings of Kent? Eat here often and you’ll soon be an expert.

People like to know where their food comes from these days

Having extracted food from fact, my second pearl of wisdom is bring a hearty appetite with you. Ardennes genuinely offers local food at its seasonal best, and a significant portion of the busy menu is devoted to naming its local producers, suppliers and growers – a trend I’d certainly like to see adopted in more Kent restaurants.
We learn that Barry Warpole – better known as ‘Bluey’ because of his blue Wellington boots - supplies all the fresh fish and will call up Ardennes every day from his boat to say what’s he caught that morning.

Local produce
Godmersham, from just outside Canterbury, supplies all the Kent game, while the award-winning sausages, local beef and lamb are from 2005 Taste of Kent best butcher, S W Doughty.
As Brian says: “People like to know where their food comes from these days and we’ve always sourced locally from day one.”
Interest suitably aroused, I opted for grilled aubergine and goat’s cheese to start, an unusual combination with an interesting contrast of tastes and textures that erred ever so slightly on the side of too much cheese but was still very yummy.
After much deliberation, Monkey went for the home-made soup, a sort of Minestrone with pork sausage in it, informing me really quite sternly that “while I don’t agree with the concept of soup generally, this is very nice, and very spicy.” Praise indeed, but what a strange boy he is.
Feeling rather full already, I was nonetheless seduced by the thought of Bluey and his wellies into choosing the catch of day, which turned out to be skate cheeks wrapped in Cumbrian air-dried ham, pan fried and served with a creamy caper sauce.

Skate and pie
Reeling from the thought that skate even had cheeks, I nonetheless found this an excellent dish, the full flavours of both the fish and the meat complementing rather than fighting with each other: a bold and brave addition to the menu.
Monkey kept it simple and manly with his choice of a hand-made pie of the day, despite forgetting to enquire what sort of pie it was. It seemed to be mince and disappeared very quickly, leaving him just enough room to demolish cold poached lemon pear with stem ginger ice cream, the latter proving a particular hit.
Fat with skate cheeks, I could only manage a token bit of Kentish pear crumble and custard, but enough to pronounce it hot and homely and just right for rounding off a winter-warming feast.
So, if you want a good read with your meal and are a fan of local provenance, Ardennes has everything you need.

Words by Sarah Sturt pictures by Michael Palmer